Sheffield Wednesday players to send EFL payment plea amid Dejphon Chansiri crisis | OneFootball

Sheffield Wednesday players are asking the EFL to pay them directly with staff preparing to leave, as the crisis at Hillsborough continues to deepen.

Sheffield Wednesday players are requesting that the EFL pay them directly, as the crisis engulfing the Championship club continues to deepen.

The crisis engulfing Sheffield Wednesday is continuing to deepen following a chaotic end to the season which has seen players getting paid late, while the situation regarding their manager remains as unclear as ever.

The club are already under a three-window transfer embargo after failing to pay their players on time at the end of March and the end of May, as well as having paid HMRC late in October 2024.

Sheffield Wednesday players want their wages paid directly by the EFL

Journalist Alan Nixon reports that Wednesday's players are seeking the assistance of the PFA in order to ensure that they get paid. Their wages are due to be received at the end of June, but there seems to be little confidence that this will happen. It's reported that their hope is to get the EFL to pay them directly from the club's television money rather than having it sent to the club and owner Dejphon Chansiri.

Being late paying their players for a second month in a row would allow them to leave as a breach of contract under FIFA rules, but there will be many who wish to stay with the club.

Nixon reports that Chansiri is counting on the EFL funds to pay the bills unless he gets a £5 million loan from a takeover bidder or compensation for boss Danny Rohl, as he closes in on an inevitable departure from the Steel City.

Rohl is understood to have a £5 million release clause in his contract, but with his relationship with Chansiri having completely broken down and reported interest from Leicester City, who have parted ways with Ruud Van Nistelrooy by mutual consent, the likelihood of him taking charge of a Sheffield Wednesday team again remains remote.

Meanwhile, Nixon has also reported that if Wednesday fail to pay wages for the second month in a row, they will incur further EFL charges and points deductions ahead of the 2025/26 campaign, which could implode before it even begins if the Owls' situation is not sorted soon.

A takeover remains the key to Sheffield Wednesday's future prospects

Hopes for Wednesday's survival seem dependent upon a sale of the club being agreed, but with offers having already been made which have been rejected by Chansiri, there is no clarity over when this will be agreed, if at all.

An American-based group fronted by Sheffield-born businessman Adam Shaw has already had two bids for the club rejected, with the first one having been described in a statement by the club as "derisory". Other reports have linked the club with former chairman Milan Mandaric, though he has confirmed that he will not be getting involved, while John Textor, who recently sold his share in Crystal Palace, has also been connected with the club.

Meanwhile, Wednesday remain effectively without a manager as a result of the stand-off between Chansiri and Danny Rohl. It is clear that Rohl will not be returning to the club, but others have baulked at the £5 million release clause.

The imminent departure of their backroom staff and some of their players will not help the club's position only adds to the sense of crisis engulfing Hillsborough, while the possibility of players leaving the club makes this even worse. FIFA rules dictate that players can cancel their contracts at 15 days' notice in the event of wages being paid late unless debts to them are settled in full.

Sheffield Wednesday finished the 2024-25 season in 12th place in the Championship. Unless something changes dramatically over the next few weeks, the likelihood of them repeating that next season seems fairly remote.